


the rose under Shinichi's thumb

by CobaltCorvus



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Psycho-Pass, Crimes & Criminals, F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 02:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobaltCorvus/pseuds/CobaltCorvus
Summary: “A word of advice, since some Inspectors seem to have trouble understanding the concept. Don’t trust them. Work with them, use them, listen to them, but don’t trust them,” Hakuba said, voice low in Shinichi’s ear. It wasn’t something he really needed a reminder of; he was fully aware how dangerous even latent criminals could be.Or: Psycho-Pass au with Shinichi as an Inspector and Kaito as an Enforcer. What secrets will Shinichi uncover when he joins Division One?





	the rose under Shinichi's thumb

A/N: Big thanks to my brother, who listens to my Kaishin ramblings in exchange for bouncing D&D campaign ideas around. 

 

Shinichi pulled the hood up on his raincoat and resisted the urge to jog the last few meters to the brightly lit tent set up on the side of the street. His first meeting with his partner needed to make a good impression, if it was down to being a little late or looking calm and collected then he’d pick the latter. He ducked under the low-hanging roof of the tent and shook his sleeves out. 

“You are exactly ten minutes, forty-three seconds late, Inspector Shinichi. It’s only fortunate that your tardiness is surpassed by the police transport.” The cool voice’s assertion was punctuated by the snap of metal as a man stepped towards him and extended a hand. Shinichi shook it with a restrained smile, taking in the blonde hair and watch chain hanging out of the English great-coat’s pocket. 

“And that makes you Hakuba Saguru. I wish you luck fixing that plumbing leak in your shower soon,” Shinichi said, looking over at the large black box marked POLICE. “When do we start?”

“As soon as the Enforcers arrive. I understand this is your first day, but this kind of dangerous situation is best dealt with using dangerous elements. Fire with fire, as they say.” Hakuba sniffed and would have continued but the sound of splashing tires came from behind them. The vehicle was bulky and oddly looked halfway between a tank and a produce truck, but it still managed to make Shinichi tense and wary. He’d wanted to be a detective since he was a child and while being assigned to the Crime Investigation Department was a dream come true, he’d looked forward to stopping criminals, not working with them. 

The back opened up, the doors unfolding and unlocking with a pneumatic hiss drowned by the sound of the rain. 

“A word of advice, since  _ some _ Inspectors seem to have trouble understanding the concept. Don’t trust them. Work with them, use them, listen to them, but don’t trust them,” Hakuba said, voice low in Shinichi’s ear. It wasn’t something he really needed a reminder of; he was fully aware how dangerous even latent criminals could be. 

The sound of clicking steps heralded the appearance of the first Enforcer off the transport. The woman who entered the tent looked like she’d gotten off the wrong bus. Red hair so dark it turned black from just a few seconds in the rain, miniskirt that brushed her mid-thigh and a satin blouse that flowed off her frame. She would have looked less conspicuous going on a date than appearing outside a crime scene. 

Another woman appeared behind her, hands in the pockets of a lab coat and fixing Shinichi with as disinterested a look as he’d ever gotten. If one was as eye-catching as a red herring, then the other seemed just as withdrawn. 

“This is Ms. Haibara Ai,” Hakuba introduced the latter as he pulled out his pocket-watch again. 

“That’s  _ Dr. _ Haibara.” She scowled at the Inspector and wiped the rain from her cheek.

“Yes, and that’s Ms. Koizumi— “

“You can call me Akako, Inspector, I look forward to working together,” Akako interrupted, smiling wide. 

“And that leaves our last…” Hakuba looked up from checking the time. “Where is he?” 

“Looking for me, Hakuba? Aww, I knew you’d missed me.” The voice came from behind him and Shinichi turned to see a man of his own height leaning against the large black crate set up in the middle of the tent. His loose vest and messy hair combined with the bright pair of sneakers he was wearing made him look like he’d stepped out of a youth fashion magazine. He grinned as he pulled himself up to sit on the box and crossed his legs. 

“Kuroba, get off. It’s not a lawn chair.” Hakuba sighed, but dutifully continued his introductions. “This is Kuroba Kaito. Inspector Kudo Shinichi is going to be joining Division One as of today.” 

“Fresh meat, then. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you.” Akako trailed her hand down Shinichi’s arm as she passed him. Dr. Haibara didn’t spare him a glance, instead studying the case files Hakuba pulled up. 

“Our objective as of right now is to capture and contain, the Area Stress levels are rising near the second floor corridor. We’ll be approaching from both stair blocks, Haibara and Koizumi with me, Kuroba with Inspector Kudo.” 

“Has the chemical contamination been dealt with yet?” Dr. Haibara stepped forward and began scanning through the specs on the hologram, pulling up and dismissing menus faster than Shinichi could read what was inside them. She seemed to finally find what she was looking for though. “There are trace amounts of arsine and boron trichloride on the first floor with the detectors on the second out of commission.” 

Hakuba pursed his lips and nodded tersely. 

“Orders remain the same, safety equipment will have to come from inside the facility. We don’t have the time.” He turned to Kaito where he was still perched on the crate and shoved him off. The Enforcer didn’t resist and landed with a small bow, eliciting a laugh from Akako. 

“Looks like we’ll be stealing equipment. Your time to shine, Kaito,” she said. Shinichi didn’t expect Kaito to stick his tongue out at her like a tot in grade school, the childish gesture rather at odds with the situation.

Meanwhile, Hakuba stepped back as the crate slid open, pulling a Dominator from its holder and fixing Akako and Kaito with a flat stare. 

“As a reminder, any unauthorized items detected in your possession will result in disciplinary action,” he said, glancing towards Shinichi to make his role clear. “We leave in exactly 90 seconds.” 

Akako let out a laugh, its high echo ringing in Shinichi’s ears even after she’d stopped. Without another word, she picked out a Dominator after Haibara and started rolling up her sleeves. Kaito followed suit, slipping his Dominator into the holster at his back before strolling over to Shinichi. 

“This is your first time, right?” he asked, meaning hidden in his smirk. “Go on, don’t be shy.”

“Is she going to keep her heels on?” Shinichi asked instead of rising to Kaito’s attempts to bait him. He rounded the crate, back to the rain and facing the cheerful Enforcer who planted his elbows on the rim of the box while he answered. 

“Yeah, she will. Don’t worry, Inspector, Akako does great in heels. You should see her move.” 

Shinichi grabbed the handle of the last Dominator and kept his surprise restrained to a bare flinch when the Sybil System spoke in his ear.  The mechanized voice sounded clear as the weather was not and as he pulled it out of its holder, he realized Kaito was also talking. 

“It’s like a little fake conscience. Tells you what to do, when someone’s being bad or good. Rather handy sometimes.” A brief flicker passed through Kaito’s smile.

Shinichi looked around, the readout overlaying his vision fading away along with the voice. By the time he had blinked away the disorientation, Hakuba had left the tent with Haibara and Akako in tow. Kaito straightened up, looking at Shinichi with a steady gaze. 

The research facility of Biological Organics was shrouded behind the sheets of rain, the side entrance they were meant to use hidden behind a row of dense bushes. Steeling himself against the work at hand, Shinichi ducked out from under the tent and headed across the sodden grass. Muted footsteps squished past him and he almost missed it as Kaito appeared crouched beside the door leading in. 

“Cleared the door, Inspector,” he reported once Shinichi had caught up. Shinichi peered inside, noting the empty hallway and security desk himself before opening the door. Cool refrigerated air blew past him into the downpour and he couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through him as they stepped inside. 

“Check the labs for gas masks,” he ordered. As Kaito slipped into the first room, Shinichi continued down the corridor towards the stairs tucked into the back corner of the building. In the gloom created by the dim safety lights that barely illuminated the walls let alone the floor, the darkened doorways seemed to lurk on both sides. He’d become accustomed to situations like this, knew how to keep his fears from becoming irrational, but the new tools he was expected to use were unwanted complications. 

The base of the stairs was covered in a carpet of glass shards, crackling under his boots as he approached. 

“Found some, sealed and everything.” Kaito’s voice came from behind him and he whirled around without thinking. 

**_Enforcer Kuroba Kaito. Crime Coefficient is 141. Paralyzer mode activated._ **

“Hey, I get it. It’s not the best fashion statement but you’re the one who asked for them.” Kaito didn’t flinch away from the barrel aimed at his chest as he held out the gas mask with a rather mischievous grin. 

The Dominator in his hand shifted and Shinichi hastily pointed it at the floor again. The Sybil System’s mechanical timbre faded away. Taking the mask, he pulled it over his face as he tried to calm his thoughts. 

He would be lying if he’d said he hadn’t been curious what the latent criminal’s Coefficient would be, whether it would be dangerously high or deceptively low. It was honestly neither. Kaito lay in between, hovering in a range that promised nothing besides the threat of his potential. It did nothing to lower Shinichi’s guard, especially not after how close Kaito had gotten without him noticing. 

“I’m sure Hakuba’s already complaining about how late we are,” Kaito said, his voice muffled behind the air purifier that covered his nose. Before Shinichi could reply, he’d started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Shinichi followed, watching the Enforcer’s back carefully as they scaled the steps. 

The door leading to the second floor was ajar; the see-through guard railing of the landing missing entirely. It looked like its remains were what littered the floor below. Peering around the edge of the rather dented doorframe, Shinichi listened to the sound of beakers clattering and papers rustling. The lab halfway down the hall was open with a puddle spreading across the tiled floor from inside. 

A hand brushed his shoulder and Kaito slipped by, his Dominator held at the ready near his knee. 

“We have to wait—” Shinichi gave up on trying to call him back once it was just as likely their target would hear him than Kaito. He stepped into the hall and caught up by the time Kaito had reached the open lab. 

Inside, the silhouette of a man bent over a desk slammed another drawer and moved on to a cabinet mounted on the wall. The slumped bodies of the scientists who’d been working in the room lay next to their chairs, some received pointed kicks or crushed fingers as the intruder moved past. 

Tapping Kaito on the shoulder, Shinichi gestured towards the left. Once it seemed he’d  gotten the rather rudimentary plan, Shinichi ducked behind one of the nearest tables filled with chemical bottles and pipettes. They circled around the edges of the room as the man continued to veritably loot every container in the cabinet in the course of his search. 

Shinichi peered between a pair of fractionated distillators to see Kaito’s progress from across the room. In the better part of an hour that he’d known him, he’d already had his expectations punctured. Practically every other sentence Kaito had uttered had been some form of a joke, with almost no regard for the hierarchy of power in the department. But with the gas mask on, the Enforcer’s amused smile was hidden, leaving only a specter of silent precision that moved to stand right behind the preoccupied thief. Shinichi was tempted to look away at the brazen closeness with which Kaito leaned in to pluck the contents of the man’s pocket. 

It was a fortunate matter that he didn’t, for as soon as Kaito had pulled the bag of two-toned pills out, the man turned and pressed a knife to his throat. Kaito froze, hands held to the side with no motion towards the Dominator now holstered at the small of his back. Why he’d decided to put it away or how he’d let himself get caught so off-guard as to be held at knife-point, Shinichi didn’t know but now wasn’t the time to care. 

Shinichi stood, hand steadier than he would have expected as he leveled the Dominator at the first person he ever intended to shoot. 

“If you make a move, I’ll cut him open! I need this, don’t get in my way.” Red-rimmed eyes flicked back and forth between Shinichi and Kaito, quivering almost as much as his hands.

**_Crime Coefficient is over 250. Disciplinary action advised, Paralyzer mode activated._ **

The man reacted to the whirring Dominator by reaching out to grab Kaito by the vest. Shinichi didn’t wait to see whether his hand would slip on the knife but pressed the trigger instead. Their target fell sideways onto the floor, indistinguishable from the other bodies that he had stepped on before. 

“Well, that was easy.” Kaito tossed the pills into the air and pulled his shirt into place. “Look at these things. Why would he want these so much?”

“Are you that used to people threatening to kill you?” Shinichi asked, voice quieter than he’d intended. But the scene before him, of death’s prelude, was hard to shake. 

“No, but I knew you’d do something about it.” Kaito shrugged, nonchalance draped over his stance like a cape. 

“On what grounds?” 

He didn’t get an answer to his question as Hakuba’s voice rang out from the hallway outside. 

“Inspector, you failed to inform me of your early assault on our mission directive.” The disapproval was written clearly on Hakuba’s face once he came into view, Dr. Haibara trailing behind him. 

“I think the real question is, what took you guys so long? On the other hand, we found out what he wanted,” Kaito replied, lobbing the bag across the room. 

Snatching the pills out of the air, Hakuba inspected them like he expected saplings to sprout from the contents at any moment. 

“I see. We’ll have the lab analyze them.” He cast a pointed glance at Kaito. “For your information, we dealt with the chemical leaks and the remaining lucid personnel. I see you wasted no time on such endeavors.”

He crossed the room carefully, avoiding the chemical spill near the door, and crouched next to the paralyzed man. “I trust there were no complications?”

Shinichi met Kaito’s eyes over Hakuba’s head.  It had gone as smoothly as could be expected, considering it was a partnership of a detective with a criminal. He didn’t find Kaito’s performance at all indicative of anything other than malformed habits given rise from a juvenile attitude and would never wish to work with him if given a choice. But he refused to let Hakuba think he could be cowed by a difficult Enforcer, especially when said Enforcer was giving him a shit-eating grin like he was the sibling who’d tattle to parents. 

“No, no problems.”

Straightening up, Hakuba appeared to hesitate but finally gave in.

“Well, it looks like a successful first job, Inspector. Welcome to Division One.”

 


End file.
